Thieves target popular boot store

Jan. 7, 2013: A group of thieves steals a safe from one of Houston's most popular boot stores. Mary Benton reports.

HOUSTON -

Cavender's is a popular place to buy the finest hats, boots and shirts, and one group of thieves wanted to take the store's money early Monday.

Surveillance video from the store along the Gulf Freeway near Edgebrook captured images of several men walking outside of the store. They then broke through a door, walked past merchandise and went into an office, where they targeted a safe, investigators said.

The crooks were seen rolling the safe out of the store and into a Chevrolet Suburban that was parked and waiting for the getaway.

Morgan said the store's alarm company woke him up shortly after midnight to tell him about the break-in. By the time he got to the store, Houston police were there and the crooks were gone.

Officers across the city were told to be on the lookout, and some went to check on the store's location on the Northwest Freeway. The vehicle showed up there, but the driver took off after spotting police. The driver led officers on a chase to a nearby apartment complex, where two out of the six people inside the vehicle were arrested.

Detectives said they found money and tools, including a crow bar, inside the vehicle.

"I'd like them to go to prison for a long, long time," Morgan said.

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